When cooking at home, do you have the habit of washing the wok after stir-frying each dish? If so, congratulations, that is the correct way. If not, you must break this habit, because these cooking methods are no different than "poisoning" yourself.
1. Not washing the wok after stir-frying
No matter how much oil is left or how clean the wok is, you must wash it after cooking. Xia Pengbin, a dietitian from the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the Zhongda Hospital, points out that the seemingly clean surface of the wok will have grease and food residue attached. When heated again at high temperatures, it can produce carcinogens such as benzopyrene. Moreover, when stir-frying the next dish without washing the wok, you will find that the leftover food in the wok is very easy to burn, which also poses a certain risk of cancer. Therefore, to eat healthier food, wash your wok clean!
2. Using leftover oil for cooking
Some people often save the oil used to fry chicken wings and fish to continue cooking with. This practice is highly inadvisable. Because reused oil contains residual carcinogens. Therefore, when cooking, you should carefully measure the amount of oil needed, and it's best to use it only once. Of course, if the oil has not been used for high-temperature frying, it can be used a maximum of 2-3 times.
3. Adding ingredients only when the oil is smoking
Many people have a habit of waiting for the oil to get hot before adding ingredients (the sign of hot oil is that it starts to smoke), believing that this makes the dish taste better. Is this really healthy? Experts explain that when the oil in the wok starts to smoke, the temperature has reached as high as 200°C. At this point, once the ingredients are added, carcinogens will be produced. Furthermore, at such a high temperature, the nutritional value of the vegetables is likely to be destroyed. Therefore, experts suggest that when cooking, it is best to have a hot wok and cold oil. Trans fatty acids produced by oil at high temperatures are harmful to the human body.
4. Turning off the range hood immediately
Many people believe that once the dish is done cooking, the range hood should be turned off since they won't be inhaling the smoke anymore. However, this seemingly casual habit hides a "danger." Because many dishes, when overheated, release toxic substances that are harmful to the respiratory system and may induce lung cancer. In fact, it takes time for the range hood to exhaust the fumes. The fumes from the freshly cooked dish will definitely linger in the kitchen. If you turn off the range hood at this moment, these toxic gases cannot be expelled and will be inhaled when you re-enter the kitchen. Therefore, after cooking, it's a good idea to let the range hood continue to run for 3-5 minutes to ensure that all harmful gases are completely discharged.